Drought conditions continued across most of Central Alabama through the month of October, despite the rainfall received from a pair of storm systems that brought some showers and thunderstorms to the state during the latter half of the month. By the end of the month, roughly half of Central Alabama remained in the Exceptional Drought (D4) designation, with the remainder in Moderate (D1) to Extreme (D3) Drought.
Agricultural, hydrologic, and socioligical impacts continued to be widely felt. The rainfall that did occur in October came too late to help many crops. The majority of cotton and soybean crops, as well as livestock and pasture conditions, remained poor to very poor. Major rivers and reservoirs continued to run much below normal. Navigation on major rivers remained significantly impacted, and many boat landings on major lakes were unusuable due to extremely low lake levels. On Lake Martin, all marinas had to be shut down because there was no access to them due to the low lake levels. Many water utility companies continued to enforce fines and surcharges for excessive water usage, and water restriction plans remained in effect.